Dink 2011: Gold Dust Meridian

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It looks like a cheeky ’70s-era Playboy romper room lit by the glow of red and yellow lounge lamps, but this low-slung brick and wood bar is also a chill comfort-food haven. Couples cuddle in the curved embrace of tall black booths, sharing an order of mac ’n’ cheese ($7) topped with Goldfish cracker crumbles and sips of mulled pomegranate cider spiked with rum ($8) while larger groups pop deviled eggs ($4), slam Oly tallboys ($2) and sing along to the Kinks. The past and present rarely collide so nicely. KELLY CLARKE.What to drink: For the teetotalers there’s Squirt. For the soon-to-be-blitzed there’s a $23, 60-ounce “family bowl” of Squirt—and rum, pineapple, lemon and bitters—called the Zombie. Happy hour: 50 cents off well drinks and draft pints, $1 off wine and most of the food 2-8 pm daily.Entertainment: Naked-lady cowboy painting, DJs Saturdays and Sundays.